Baby kitties, the lack of a stove, and making bread...

We are blessed to have had 3 new babies join our family this summer. We have many outdoor barn cats, which keep our mouse population confined to OUTSIDE the house, and at times they can be prolific. This year it has been quite manageable- we had 2 kittens born in one litter, and another born by itself. You can imagine that these little balls of fur are magnets to my animal-loving Izzy!

We recently gave our stove away to a friend who needed it for one of their apartments (they own homes that they rent). We didn't do this without thought, though- we have had a very nice gas stove with convection oven sitting in our enclosed porch for the past 4 years, and I was hoping that the give-away of the old stove might prompt the men in my house to install the new stove! Until that happens, we have a microwave, toaster oven, electric frying pan, George Foreman grill, and outdoor charcoal grill to use, as well as an outdoor propane single burner camp stove. I think we'll get by, considering we also have crock pots galore, rice cookers, and a bread machine.

I really don't know how I would have gotten by with Izzy's first few years after diagnosis of EE without the bread machine. When we found out he was allergic to corn, we strictly avoided EVERYTHING that contained anything corn-related: corn starch, corn syrup (although technically syrup and oil don't contain corn protein, we avoided it anyway), dextrose, maltodextrin, malt syrup, caramel color, sorbitol, glycerine, and more. It was nearly impossible to find economically-priced bread that was safe for him to eat. Our grocery store, located 25 miles away, carried a brand that is safe, but cost $3.50 per loaf, and that just wasn't very reasonable. I made many, many loaves of bread at a much less expensive price and even upgraded my bread machine a few times through the years to be able to make more types of bread (and bigger loaf sizes) to feed the whole family. I found a good basic bread recipe, and beefed it up a little. I adapted it to make sweet breads, too. A bread machine is the easiest way to make gluten-free breads, too. (And much less messy, too- gluten-free breads don't stick together as well as regular breads- with a bread machine, you don't have to touch the dough at all.)

So, with all that being said, I'll list my favorite bread recipe: regular (yeast-raised) 1/2 wheat & 1/2 white flour bread. I have a 1 1/2 lb. bread maker, and use the medium crust setting for all yeast-raised breads. Let me know if you like the recipe and if you made any changes of your own! I'll be happy to post the other 2 recipes if you are interested- just let me know by leaving a comment for me. Have a great weekend!


Wheat/White Bread

1 cup lukewarm water (90 degrees)

1 1/4 teaspoons sugar (use brown or raw sugar for better flavor)

1 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white bread flour

2 tablespoons butter
(cut up in small pieces and place around the sides of pan)

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
(make sure it doesn't touch sugar or water; place in center of flour) 

Add ingredients to bread machine pan as directed by the manufacturer. If desired, add a couple of tablespoons of vital wheat gluten, dry milk powder, or flax seeds for a nutritional boost. Let the bread cool in the pan, outside the bread machine, for 20-30 minutes, then let cool on a wire rack, slice, spread on the butter, and enjoy!